Robert Mehmel Sells 14,852 Shares of Griffon (NYSE:GFF) Stock

Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF) COO Robert Mehmel sold 14,852 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.18, for a total value of $1,562,133.36. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 748,839 shares in the company, valued at approximately $78,762,886.02. The trade was a 1.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Griffon Stock Performance

Shares of GFF traded up $0.85 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $107.16. 274,481 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 352,398. Griffon Corporation has a twelve month low of $65.01 and a twelve month high of $108.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.75, a current ratio of 2.41 and a quick ratio of 2.43. The company has a market capitalization of $4.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.34 and a beta of 1.44. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $91.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $85.93.

Griffon (NYSE:GFF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The conglomerate reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $481.37 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $457.70 million. Griffon had a return on equity of 249.31% and a net margin of 8.08%.The business’s revenue was down 21.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.50 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Griffon Corporation will post 5.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Griffon Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 31st. Griffon’s dividend payout ratio is presently 676.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on GFF shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Griffon from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Griffon from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Stephens raised their price objective on shares of Griffon from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Griffon from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $125.00 target price on shares of Griffon in a report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Griffon presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.50.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Griffon during the second quarter worth approximately $590,633,000. Voss Capital LP lifted its holdings in shares of Griffon by 14.7% during the fourth quarter. Voss Capital LP now owns 1,760,000 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $129,624,000 after purchasing an additional 225,000 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in Griffon by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,535,473 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $113,088,000 after buying an additional 11,169 shares during the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Griffon by 41.4% in the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,002,513 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $73,835,000 after buying an additional 293,278 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management increased its stake in Griffon by 10.0% in the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 867,195 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $63,869,000 after buying an additional 79,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.22% of the company’s stock.

About Griffon

Griffon Corporation (NYSE:GFF) is a diversified management and holding company whose subsidiaries design, manufacture and market products for residential, commercial and defense applications. Operating through three primary platforms—Home & Building Products, Defense Electronics and Specialty Industrial—Griffon’s portfolio spans consumer and industrial brands with a focus on long-lived products and recurring aftermarket opportunities.

In the Home & Building Products segment, Griffon’s Clopay Building Products division is a leading North American manufacturer of residential and commercial garage doors, specializing in steel, fiberglass and composite designs as well as decorative carriage-house styles.